California Musings #5
The missionaries here provide us with numerous opportunities…sometimes teaching, sometimes just experiences. We had our last District meeting today, May 20th and we invited the elders to go to lunch afterwards. We have been going to a little Mexican place, Baja Fresh, but today we tried something different. Alisa had recommended that we go to a Japanese restaurant in the Americana Mall, Katsuya. Elder White, particularly, really likes Japanese food, so it was a go. It was a first for me because I generally don’t eat raw fish, unless I didn’t happen to know what I was eating, which is unlikely. Well, I survived and it was very good. This mall has a wonderful fountain which was apparently designed by the same person who did the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. It was fun to hear the music and see the water “dance” in rhythm. My sisters may recall the fun trip we had to Las Vegas. The elders called the place the “temple of mammon”. There is another mall across the street called Galleria, but it’s not quite as upscale as the Americana.
Sunday, May 23rd, we were finally able to catch up to a man we’ve been trying to see for weeks. He has a crazy work schedule, and doesn’t return phone calls. We went with the missionaries and had to wait at the gate until someone was leaving and then were able to drive in right after the other car had come out, then up to the top of the parking area, climb 4 flights of stairs up to his apartment…sort of reminded me of Armenia, but it was an outside stairwell; the building did have a bit of a tilt to it (shades of Pisa) and the missionaries were discussing what they would do if the building came down, how they would escape…funny. We had a great visit. All the men talked together and I talked with his wife, Susie, who is a member of another faith and appears to be a very religious person. She married Krikor about 7 or so years ago. She had been a widow for over 17 years. She was in the process of making dolma (I’m going to have to get her recipe). She was cooking cabbage and was stuffing peppers and Roma tomatoes, as well, to make the dolma. She was really glad that we had come but apologetic for the messy state of things. She thinks Krikor needs his religion in his life…and so do we. We talked a bit about the Savior and how He left the 90 and 9 and went after the one lost sheep, which she said was what we were doing for Krikor. The missionaries said they try to visit him every Sunday and this is what he needs…to know someone cares about him and misses his association. Sometimes, when things are not right in your life (you may not be living as you should or are doing things your church teaches you not to do) you may feel you would be a hypocrite if you came. But the church isn’t made up of perfect people, rather imperfect people who come because they want to learn how they can improve and do better, how they can become more like the Savior.
May 24th, as I was walking I remembered one observation I had made but hadn’t noted. There are trees that line several of the streets that are covered with blossoms of purple…so you have streets that are very colorful. Then, the purple fades and everything becomes just green…lovely, though.
This was P-day for the missionaries and we took them to the Huntington Library. It is a beautiful place to visit and there are wonderful things to see and enjoy. Chris Cutri from our home ward in Provo said that if we could only do one thing in California we should go to the Huntington…we did it Chris! I especially liked the huge Desert garden…the cacti were amazing. Before we went on our sightseeing trip, we had a visit with Kris Aristakissian at his home. He’s another one we’ve been trying to catch up to and finally did. He has been a member for almost 40 years. He was baptized in the sea in Lebanon and has been in the United States for about 34 years. He has one son who is a member, but his three other children are not and his wife isn’t really very supportive either. We’re hopeful that he’ll come back to church and get involved with the Armenian group.
We made another visit to the Nagaryan family to drop off a letter and we took the young missionaries with us. The Nagaryan’s were very accepting and friendly towards them and when the elders asked if they could visit them after we leave, they said, “yes”. So, we’re excited that the friendship will continue to grow. The Nagaryan’s were very impressed with the elder’s Armenian and said it was excellent. The Nagaryan’s also expressed some interest in coming to church and we hope they do that, too. Grandma Nagaryan gave me a kiss on each cheek as we were leaving and asked me to pass it along to Ando…so here’s hoping we get to go back to Armenia to deliver it.
The last event we were able to do was sort of like reaching the peak of climbing a tall mountain. This had been our goal and we did it. We went with a bunch of Armenians and their friends to the Los Angeles Temple. I was even able to take a few of my family names and had such calm, peaceful feeling while in the temple. We had one car and a big 15 passenger van that took us there. It was a great time for strengthening our relationships and these types of experiences will do much to build the Armenian group. For some of these friends, it may be the last time we have this association, but as Debra Manoogian said, we never say goodbye because we know that we’ll see each other again.
This has been a wonderful chapter in our lives and we will miss you all. Until we meet again. Now off to Arizona and a grandson’s baptism, then on to Provo for our next journey. Until then….
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
California Musings #4
We had our first Zone Conference, and the approach of President Pike, while different from President’s Dunn, was good and we learned more about teaching by the spirit and doing less “rote” teaching. Because of the number of missionaries, they do five zone conferences. That’s a lot of work! It was a day-long meeting from 9:00 a.m. to almost 4 p.m. with about a 30 minute break for lunch. One of the best parts was the testimony meeting at the end when all the departing and all new missionaries shared their feelings. Elder White (one of the Armenian elders) bore a heartfelt testimony and as I followed him, so did “the sign of the waterfall”. Oh well, maybe one of these days, I’ll eliminate the tears, but after 60 years, I’m not banking on it.
Missionary work continues to be interesting and rewarding. Friday (the 7th), we decided just to drop in on Ando Najaryan’s (from Ararat) family, as they hadn’t returned our call. Elder Chaney had sent the contact information to us to check out. We were expecting to find Ando’s brother, but instead found his niece, Tamara, her husband Andy and their little boy, Shant, who is almost 4. They were so friendly and we were able to share some pictures of Ando and Hasmik (had on our computer) with them and visited for over an hour. Apparently, we had Voskan’s (Ando’s brother) telephone number, but Tamara and Andy’s address. We exchanged more information and they volunteered to go with us to Voskan’s place as they said their English wasn’t that good and they could help translate. It was interesting as Tamara talked about the brothers, her father and Ando. She commented that Ando was so positive and always upbeat in spite of his trials and challenges, while her father was a bit of a pessimist and negative. I was thinking to myself, but didn’t say, that I think having a gospel-centered life and always helping and serving others is a key to a happier existence. We also had been given the name of Tamara’s brother, Vegan, but he is in Arizona, currently facing some immigration issues. The judge on his case is apparently a member of our church…Hope the results are fair and good.
May 8, 2010 was a Stake Helping Hands day at the Muir Elementary School. We all donned the yellow shirts and helped paint and landscape the school in preparation for Teacher Appreciation Day on Monday. All of the teachers will have their own garden spots planted with flowers and shrubs that their students and their families paid for (for the most part). Considering that about 45% of the students are below the poverty level, it’s pretty amazing. The principal of the school, Linda Junge, is a member of the church and her husband, Jason, is a returned missionary from Norway (just a little aside). We enjoyed dinner with the mission president and his wife and once again discovered a small world in the church. Stephanie Pike is a cousin to Vickie Taylor, and I could see some family resemblance. They also were well acquainted with Jennifer Hyde Young, daughter of Hope and Os, as the Pike’s children attended Provo High where Jennifer worked. The Pikes were also acquainted with Chipmans and Robisons (founder and partner of Caldera Engineering where Rog worked).
Mother’s Day was a wonderful day to connect with family (enjoyed Skyping and seeing most of the grandchildren and children). We also had another baptism within the Armenian group, so the numbers are growing…but not without challenges unfortunately. With the newness of the church to most Armenians, there is quite a lot of “hand holding, listening, encouraging”…not always bad, however.
I had another first. In conversation with a member who had been baptized about six years ago, she said she had been disappointed (haven’t heard since Armenia). She said she had been promised some help several years ago and nothing had come of it. I’m not sure exactly the problem (sometimes something is lost in the translation) but she considers herself no longer a member.
We were able to get together with more of the Najaryan family. We met Voskan (Ando’s brother) and his wife, Noura, daughter Anna, granddaughter Catherine, and mother. Tamara and Shant also were there. It was fun to get acquainted and share the photos of Ararat inasmuch as they had all lived there for a long time. In typical Armenian style, the coffee table was loaded with all kinds of fruit, cookies, etc. They would like us to help with a reference letter for the son to help with the judge’s decision regarding Vigen and also wondered if we could find out about the possibility of Ando being able to come over here to visit family, especially his mother who is 90.
We're continuing to work with the Armenians and are excited that next week we're going with a group of Armenians to the Los Angeles Temple and shortly after that we will be returning to Provo and then hopefully, Armenia. We'll keep you posted.
Missionary work continues to be interesting and rewarding. Friday (the 7th), we decided just to drop in on Ando Najaryan’s (from Ararat) family, as they hadn’t returned our call. Elder Chaney had sent the contact information to us to check out. We were expecting to find Ando’s brother, but instead found his niece, Tamara, her husband Andy and their little boy, Shant, who is almost 4. They were so friendly and we were able to share some pictures of Ando and Hasmik (had on our computer) with them and visited for over an hour. Apparently, we had Voskan’s (Ando’s brother) telephone number, but Tamara and Andy’s address. We exchanged more information and they volunteered to go with us to Voskan’s place as they said their English wasn’t that good and they could help translate. It was interesting as Tamara talked about the brothers, her father and Ando. She commented that Ando was so positive and always upbeat in spite of his trials and challenges, while her father was a bit of a pessimist and negative. I was thinking to myself, but didn’t say, that I think having a gospel-centered life and always helping and serving others is a key to a happier existence. We also had been given the name of Tamara’s brother, Vegan, but he is in Arizona, currently facing some immigration issues. The judge on his case is apparently a member of our church…Hope the results are fair and good.
May 8, 2010 was a Stake Helping Hands day at the Muir Elementary School. We all donned the yellow shirts and helped paint and landscape the school in preparation for Teacher Appreciation Day on Monday. All of the teachers will have their own garden spots planted with flowers and shrubs that their students and their families paid for (for the most part). Considering that about 45% of the students are below the poverty level, it’s pretty amazing. The principal of the school, Linda Junge, is a member of the church and her husband, Jason, is a returned missionary from Norway (just a little aside). We enjoyed dinner with the mission president and his wife and once again discovered a small world in the church. Stephanie Pike is a cousin to Vickie Taylor, and I could see some family resemblance. They also were well acquainted with Jennifer Hyde Young, daughter of Hope and Os, as the Pike’s children attended Provo High where Jennifer worked. The Pikes were also acquainted with Chipmans and Robisons (founder and partner of Caldera Engineering where Rog worked).
Mother’s Day was a wonderful day to connect with family (enjoyed Skyping and seeing most of the grandchildren and children). We also had another baptism within the Armenian group, so the numbers are growing…but not without challenges unfortunately. With the newness of the church to most Armenians, there is quite a lot of “hand holding, listening, encouraging”…not always bad, however.
I had another first. In conversation with a member who had been baptized about six years ago, she said she had been disappointed (haven’t heard since Armenia). She said she had been promised some help several years ago and nothing had come of it. I’m not sure exactly the problem (sometimes something is lost in the translation) but she considers herself no longer a member.
We were able to get together with more of the Najaryan family. We met Voskan (Ando’s brother) and his wife, Noura, daughter Anna, granddaughter Catherine, and mother. Tamara and Shant also were there. It was fun to get acquainted and share the photos of Ararat inasmuch as they had all lived there for a long time. In typical Armenian style, the coffee table was loaded with all kinds of fruit, cookies, etc. They would like us to help with a reference letter for the son to help with the judge’s decision regarding Vigen and also wondered if we could find out about the possibility of Ando being able to come over here to visit family, especially his mother who is 90.
We're continuing to work with the Armenians and are excited that next week we're going with a group of Armenians to the Los Angeles Temple and shortly after that we will be returning to Provo and then hopefully, Armenia. We'll keep you posted.
Monday, May 3, 2010
California Musings #3
We continue to enjoy the beautiful weather here. We manage to get out most mornings, walking the streets in our neighborhood. Sunday, May 2nd, we experienced our first baptism with the Armenian group. His name is Ashot and he was so excited and happy. He’s hoping his wife and children will soon be baptized, too.
We had another small world experience today, as well. After the baptism, we were talking with one of the speakers…sort of where are you from, what are you doing, etc. and we discovered we both had ties to Provo. He asked us where and we told him, Apache Lane. He said, are you in 5th Ward, and we said, “Yes.” Then he said, that’s the ward where I lived and my parents still live. Do you know Norm and Kay White? What fun it was to meet Paul White. He’s on the La Cresenta Stake High Council with the assignment for missionary work/training and he couldn’t have had a better example than Norm and Kay.
Sunday, was also the first time the Armenian group have had all three meetings (Sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society/Priesthood) mostly done in Armenian, since they had been a branch 8-9 years ago. Elder Peterson taught in Priesthood and I was the teacher and leader in Relief Society. It was interesting that our subjects for discussion were similar, but we had not consulted with one another. He talked about priesthood responsibilities in the home and I talked about the three lifelong responsibilities of every Relief Society Sister (Increasing in faith and personal righteousness, strengthening families and homes, and seeking out and helping those in need). It would be a modern-day miracle if just like poof!!, we could speak Armenian, but didn’t happen today. So, he had Artur Yeritsyan and I had Alina Harutyuni, Artur’s wife, doing the translating. (As an aside Artur and Alina met at Institute in Yerevan and Artur also served in a branch presidency in Armenia) Relief Society was a very small group, four sisters including me and one investigator. Elder Peterson had a much larger group, both from the Armenian group and several Stake visitors. But that is fairly typical here…there are many more active men in the group than women…just the opposite from what we experienced in Armenia where the women attending church far outnumber the men.
This weekend was fun, too, as we were able to experience some Armenian food when we were invited to the Yeritsyan’s for dinner. Alina had spent a lot of time in Germany so she also included one German dish (sort of like stroganoff), only the rice she served had been baked inside some lavash. They are a wonderful, young, couple and just what the branch needs, but he’s interested in making a career change and moving, so we’ll have to see what happens.
We always try to do salmon for one of the weekend meals, and this time Rog used some cedar planks on the barbecue and it was delicious. We’re trying to get our fill of fish because when we go back to Armenia, we won’t have that luxury. We also invited some long-time friends, Rich and Linda Allen to join us along with our wonderful hosts, Kent and Kathy Lee. Rich and I grew up together in Parleys 1st Ward in Salt Lake City, and his mother, Rhea, was the organizer and accompanist for a trio I sang with for many years. His mother’s sister, Afton, and my mother’s brother, Howard Bradshaw were married to one another, so we are sort of like, cousins by marriage.
This past week, we also had another Family Home Evening with the Armenians. We’re always excited when people we’ve invited to come actually do come. Varter Danalian and her non-member husband, Vartan Rostami came, as well as Iskhanik (Susan) Vartanian and her daughter, Anahid (Annie). I think we had about 25-30 in attendance and the numbers seem to increase each time which is good. Susan called me the next day to share her vision/experience which led to her baptism. She wants me to share her story with those back in Armenia. Hopefully, she’ll write it up in English and Armenian. I wasn’t sure I understood all of what she told me, so it would be good to see it in “black and white”.
We just received an e-mail from Elder Chaney in Armenia with the names and address of some Armenians here who have relatives in Ararat. We’re anxious to see if we can meet them this week. This will be a new, but hopefully fun and interesting challenge. I wonder if they speak English?
We had another small world experience today, as well. After the baptism, we were talking with one of the speakers…sort of where are you from, what are you doing, etc. and we discovered we both had ties to Provo. He asked us where and we told him, Apache Lane. He said, are you in 5th Ward, and we said, “Yes.” Then he said, that’s the ward where I lived and my parents still live. Do you know Norm and Kay White? What fun it was to meet Paul White. He’s on the La Cresenta Stake High Council with the assignment for missionary work/training and he couldn’t have had a better example than Norm and Kay.
Sunday, was also the first time the Armenian group have had all three meetings (Sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society/Priesthood) mostly done in Armenian, since they had been a branch 8-9 years ago. Elder Peterson taught in Priesthood and I was the teacher and leader in Relief Society. It was interesting that our subjects for discussion were similar, but we had not consulted with one another. He talked about priesthood responsibilities in the home and I talked about the three lifelong responsibilities of every Relief Society Sister (Increasing in faith and personal righteousness, strengthening families and homes, and seeking out and helping those in need). It would be a modern-day miracle if just like poof!!, we could speak Armenian, but didn’t happen today. So, he had Artur Yeritsyan and I had Alina Harutyuni, Artur’s wife, doing the translating. (As an aside Artur and Alina met at Institute in Yerevan and Artur also served in a branch presidency in Armenia) Relief Society was a very small group, four sisters including me and one investigator. Elder Peterson had a much larger group, both from the Armenian group and several Stake visitors. But that is fairly typical here…there are many more active men in the group than women…just the opposite from what we experienced in Armenia where the women attending church far outnumber the men.
This weekend was fun, too, as we were able to experience some Armenian food when we were invited to the Yeritsyan’s for dinner. Alina had spent a lot of time in Germany so she also included one German dish (sort of like stroganoff), only the rice she served had been baked inside some lavash. They are a wonderful, young, couple and just what the branch needs, but he’s interested in making a career change and moving, so we’ll have to see what happens.
We always try to do salmon for one of the weekend meals, and this time Rog used some cedar planks on the barbecue and it was delicious. We’re trying to get our fill of fish because when we go back to Armenia, we won’t have that luxury. We also invited some long-time friends, Rich and Linda Allen to join us along with our wonderful hosts, Kent and Kathy Lee. Rich and I grew up together in Parleys 1st Ward in Salt Lake City, and his mother, Rhea, was the organizer and accompanist for a trio I sang with for many years. His mother’s sister, Afton, and my mother’s brother, Howard Bradshaw were married to one another, so we are sort of like, cousins by marriage.
This past week, we also had another Family Home Evening with the Armenians. We’re always excited when people we’ve invited to come actually do come. Varter Danalian and her non-member husband, Vartan Rostami came, as well as Iskhanik (Susan) Vartanian and her daughter, Anahid (Annie). I think we had about 25-30 in attendance and the numbers seem to increase each time which is good. Susan called me the next day to share her vision/experience which led to her baptism. She wants me to share her story with those back in Armenia. Hopefully, she’ll write it up in English and Armenian. I wasn’t sure I understood all of what she told me, so it would be good to see it in “black and white”.
We just received an e-mail from Elder Chaney in Armenia with the names and address of some Armenians here who have relatives in Ararat. We’re anxious to see if we can meet them this week. This will be a new, but hopefully fun and interesting challenge. I wonder if they speak English?
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